Pants are from Sugarlips, use "AlexisP15" for 15% off site wide!
Lately I've been getting so many questions on how I got started blogging and advice on how you can get started as well, so I knew it was time for a big ol blog post to hopefully give some good insight!
I will certainly expand on this, but to put it short and sweet, JUST GO FOR IT. And be genuine! Seriously. If you scroll wayyyyy back on my instagram, it's the same account that I've always had, but one day I just started posting outfit pictures instead of whatever else weird stuff I was sharing 😂
Two things I immediately started doing was tagging every brand that I was wearing and using hashtags, esp the brand's hashtag (ex. @americaneagle and their hashtag #AExME). You can usually find their hashtag in their instagram bio. Also try to use relevant hashtags that aren't too broad. Like, if you say #summer, literally probably 3 million other photos have that hashtag. But, if you hashtag #petitesummeroutfit, it probably has a few thousand and is more helpful to the person searching these hashtags. Pinterest is a great resource for finding relevant hashtags for your brand, but to help put it more simply, think of what you're showing off in the photo and what hashtag YOU would search. You follow me?
Another thing I tried to do when starting out was to model but not copy my favorite influencer's content. Use their ways as inspiration. For example, I had no clue how to arrange a blog post at first, so I read posts from Southern Curls and Pearls to get a feel for it. If you copy someone, you're always a step behind. Be original! People aren't interested in a copy! "No one is you and that is your power."
Try to always make your next photo or piece of content better than the last. Good quality photos and content worth reading are what I'm always looking for, so I try to produce the same things for my people! For example, I used to blog post every outfit.. and those posts didn't get many views. And I thought, well duh, why would people want to see 8 different pictures of the same outfit and same location when it's already posted instagram. So now, I try to share blog posts worth reading. Olivia Rink is am amazing example of this. Every post she shares has a purpose and is meant to help and enlighten!
Side note on the quality photo thing, you don't have to have a fancy camera. I've mostly use my Iphone and sometimes Becky's Canon Rebel! And my iPhone photos always perform better than the camera photos. (The photos in this post were taken with my iPhone.) 💥
Pants are from Sugarlips, use "AlexisP15" for 15% off site wide!
Dooooooon't buy your followers. For goodness sake. It's obvious when someone has 50K followers and 200 likes on their photos, and such a waste of your hard earned money. So when you get DM's and emails, because you will, from some company that loves your content and wants to help you grow as long as you send them $200 which "promises" 2-5K followers, just delete it. You want truly interested and organic followers for good engagement.
Also, dooooon't promote what you wouldn't spend your own money on, wear, wash your face with, clean your house with, feed your dog.. (you get the point), if it wasn't for instagram. You'll quickly lose the trust of your followers and that ain't good. I didn't get any free product when I started, so I was just sharing what I bought on my own. I get a lot of gifted items now, which my bank account praises the heavens for, but I still only share what I truly love and think y'all would like as well!
Struggling what to blog about? Think about what you always get complimented on or what you've always asked advice for (hence where this post came from). Does everyone love your makeup? Talk about it! Are you always finding really cute accessories that no one else has? Share your secrets! Is there an organization you're passionate about? Talk about why and how others can help as well. And as always, Pinterest is always great for blog post ideas if you're just pooped out and hit a creative road block.
Next Friday I'll post part II, which will be my favorite resources and apps!
